By Adam Pertman The annual Medicaid Enterprise Systems Conference is always a great place to share ideas, learn about new initiatives and technologies, network with federal and state officials and engage with industry leaders from across the country. This year’s MESC – which took place in Chicago last week – was no exception. I’m gratified […]
Category: Human Services
A New Kresge Grant and a Renewed Commitment to Equity and Interoperability
By Daniel Stein, President, Stewards of Change Institute and Co-P.I., NIC Support for any nonprofit organization, at its core, is about belief. Belief that the organization has the right vision, the right approach, the right people to get the job done. So when we learned this week that the Kresge Foundation is awarding a […]
It’s Time to Add Prevention to the Fight Against the Opioid Epidemic; New Playbook Focuses on 11 Replicable Strategies to `Go Upstream’
By Daniel Stein and Paul Wormeli There are countless ways to demonstrate the horror of our nation’s opioid crisis, from raw numbers (over 47,600 opioid-related deaths in 2017) to records set (fatal overdoses now exceed vehicular deaths) to OMG descriptions of the drugs’ toxicity. A couple of recent examples: During a routine traffic stop last […]
The Cultural Challenge to Interoperability
By Paul Wormeli Even as there becomes greater acceptance of the need for interoperability across domains and disciplines in order to address serious social problems such as the opioid epidemic, cultural challenges remain as major obstacles to the practical implementation of this concept. One clear case study revealing the obstacles to interoperability can be found […]
Lessons from the Field: How to Successfully Share Data across Programs
Mary-Sara Jones, IBM Cross-program data-sharing has been one of the most popular topics at Health and Human Services conferences this year. Many states and counties are exploring different models of collaboration and integration, some focused on improving the client’s ability to engage with government, others on improving the agency’s ability to engage holistically with […]
Connecting the Dots: NIC . . . the Kresge Foundation . . . and the Road to Better Health and Well-being
By Daniel Stein, President, Stewards of Change Institute One of the underpinnings of our work at the National Interoperability Collaborative (NIC) is the understanding that “people constantly navigate multiple, interconnected systems — from education, transportation and employment to health, housing and human services — that shape their opportunities.” There are quote marks around the truism […]
It’s Time to Bring All the Players to the Table to Better-Address the Opioid Crisis
Bill Hazel is Senior Advisor for Strategic Initiatives and Policy at George Mason University in Virginia. He is the state’s former Secretary of Health and Human Resources, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Stewards of Change Institute For as many decades as I’ve been a conscious adult – which is quite a […]
Government Should Not be a Vending Machine: The Role of Civic Tech
I recently attended the Community Information Exchange Summit, presented by 2–1–1 San Diego. Over 350 people from across North America gathered to discuss citizen-centric service delivery and bridging health and social services to build strong, thriving communities. At the center of the event was the story of 2–1–1 San Diego and its community information exchange […]
A Webinar in the NIC of Time – Insights from the Front Lines: What’s Working (and Not Working) in the Battle against Opioids
In virtually every state of our country, efforts are being mounted to combat the worst public health crisis in modern U.S. history; that is, the opioid epidemic. Some of these initiatives are still in their early stages, while others are relatively advanced and starting to see successes. Regardless of where they are in their development, […]